Subject: What should the xCal tag names case be?

From: Gary Frederick <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 10:25:46 -0500

Playing with examples of xCal brought up an issue, the case of the xCal 
tags.

The xCal examples use mostly lowercase. I have been using StarOffice and 
Evolution as example applications that generate iCalendar and they both 
use UPPERCASE. However, StarOffice uses lowercase in their xcs files. 
The examples in RFC 2445 use UPPERCASE. RFC 2445 states:

   "All names of properties, property parameters, enumerated property
    values and property parameter values are case-insensitive. However,
    all other property values are case-sensitive, unless otherwise stated."

The XML tag names will be case sensitive.

If we pick all lower or all UPPER for all the tags, it may make things a 
bit easier when translating from iCalendar to xCal.

i think lower case looks better. ymmv

Gary

---

From: "Dawson Frank (NMP/Irving)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 14:35:32 -0500

> The XML tag names will be case sensitive.

Yes. This is XML requirement.

> bit easier when translating from iCalendar to xCal.

I don't follow this logic. For xCal to iCalendar the mapping is one way.
For iCalendar to xCal the mapping is one way too, but you must use case
insensitive string comparison. In any case, this is not a problem.

> i think lower case looks better. ymmv

This is just one of three possible opinions? I see DTDs with all UPPER
case, as older SGML DTD styles used. I also see all lower case, as you
advocate. But I also see derivatives of hungarian notation. Looks is not
really an argument but an opinion of style. However, perception when
reading through XML source might make sense as an argument. I believe
research has shown that mixed case is easier to read.

---

From: "John Stracke" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 16:28:12 -0400

> I believe

That certainly accords with my own experience.  People who SHOUT, or who 
type everything in lower case, are harder to read.  Mixed case gives your 
eyes clues as they parse along.

John Stracke
Principal Engineer
Incentive Systems, Inc.
[email-masked]

---

From: "NITSCH,FRANK (HP-Germany,ex1)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 14:58:07 +0100

> > research has shown that mixed case is easier to read.

Well, reading a book is of course easier than reading
C code... ;-)

> eyes clues as they parse along.

You should take into account that coding XML by hand will
be much less error-prone if everything is either lower or
upper case. However I agree that upper case is not really
a desired option... It looks just annoying and using Shift
or Caps Lock all the time is also a hassle for those who type
xCal by hand.

If you now think that coding xCal by hand is not an important
use-case I'd like to ask you: who do you think should read
raw XML? What's the most important issue the decision
should be based on? Is it a developer who want's to verify
the output of his GUI by inspecting the XML source or a
developer who constructs a test xCal event in XML in his
ASCII editor? For whose "ease of use" do we make this decision?

BTW: I'd vote for all lower case! ;-)

Regards

	Frank